Futility Closet - 167-A Manhattan Murder Mystery

Episode Date: August 28, 2017

In May 1920, wealthy womanizer Joseph Elwell was found shot to death alone in his locked house in upper Manhattan. The police identified hundreds of people who might have wanted Elwell dead, but they couldn't quite pin the crime on any of them. In this week’s episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the sensational murder that the Chicago Tribune called "one of the toughest mysteries of all times." We'll also learn a new use for scuba gear and puzzle over a sympathetic vandal. Intro: The Dodgers, Yankees, and Giants played a three-way baseball game in 1944. Avon, Colorado, has a bridge called Bob. Sources for our feature on Joseph Elwell: Jonathan Goodman, The Slaying of Joseph Bowne Elwell, 1987. Joseph Bowne Elwell, Bridge, Its Principles and Rules of Play, 1903 "J.B. Elwell, Whist Expert and Race Horse Owner, Slain," New York Times, June 12, 1920, 1. "Seek Young Woman in Elwell Mystery," New York Times, June 13, 1920, 14. "Scour City Garages for Elwell Clue," New York Times, June 14, 1920, 1. "'Woman in Black' at the Ritz Enters Elwell Mystery," New York Times, June 16, 1920, 1. "Two Men and Women Hunted in New Trail for Slayer of Elwell," New York Tribune, June 16, 1920, 1. "Housekeeper Admits Shielding Woman by Hiding Garments in Elwell Home," New York Times, June 17, 1920, 1. "Mrs. Elwell Bares Divorce Project," New York Times, June 17, 1920, 1. "Swann Baffled at Every Turn in Elwell Mystery," New York Times, June 19, 1920, 1. "'Mystery Girl in Elwell Case Is Found," Washington Times, June 19, 1920, 1. "Elwell, Discarding Palm Beach Woman, Revealed Threats," New York Times, June 20, 1920, 1. "Elwell, the Man of Many Masks," New York Times, June 20, 1920, 12. "Elwell Traced to Home at 2:30 on Day of Murder," New York Times, June 21, 1920, 1. "'Unwritten Law' Avenger Sought in Elwell Case," New York Times, June 22, 1920, 1. "Think Assassin Hid for Hours in Elwell Home," New York Times, June 23, 1920, 1. "Admits Breakfasting With Von Schlegell," New York Times, June 23, 1920, 3. "Officials Baffled by Contradictions Over Elwell Calls," New York Times, June 24, 1920, 1. "Housekeeper Gives New Elwell Facts," New York Times, June 25, 1920, 1. "Pendleton, Amazed Awaiting Inquiry in Elwell Case," New York Times, June 28, 1920, 1. "'Bootlegger' Clue in Elwell Case Bared by Check," New York Times, June 29, 1920, 1. "Elwell Rum Ring Bared by Shevlin," New York Times, July 2, 1920, 14. "Viola Kraus Again on Elwell Grill," New York Times, July 3, 1920, 14. "The People and Their Daily Troubles," Los Angeles Times, July 6, 1920: II2. "Says Witness Lied in Elwell Inquiry," New York Times, July 7, 1920, 11. "Whisky Is Seized in Elwell Mystery," New York Times, July 10, 1920, 10. "New Elwell Clue Found by Police," New York Times, July 11, 1920, 16. "'Beatrice,' New Witness Sought in Elwell Case," New York Tribune, July 11, 1920, 6. "Says He Murdered Elwell," New York Times, July 14, 1920, 17. "Quiz Figueroa Again in Elwell Mystery," New York Times, July 17, 1920, 14. "Chauffeur Quizzed in Elwell Mystery," New York Times, July 20, 1920, 8. "Elwell Evidence Put Up to Whitman," New York Times, April 2, 1921, 11. "Confesses Murder of Elwell and Says Woman Paid for It," New York Times, April 7, 1921, 1. "Admits Elwell Murder," Los Angeles Times, April 7, 1921, I1. "Confessed Elwell Slayer Identifies Woman Employer," New York Times, April 8, 1921, 1. "Confessed Slayer of Elwell Is Sane, Alienist Declares," New York Times, April 9, 1921, 1. "Harris Admits His Elwell Murder Tale Was All a Lie," New York Times, April 11, 1921, 1. "Elwell and Keenan Slayers Are Known," Fort Wayne [Ind.] Sentinel, Oct. 17, 1923, 1. "Elwell's Slayer Known to Police," New York Times, Oct. 21, 1923, E4. "Fifth Anniversary of the Elwell Murder Finds It Listed as the Perfect Mystery," New York Times, June 12, 1925, 21. "Elwell Cut Off," New York Times, April 12, 1927, 19. "Murder of Elwell Recalled in Suicide," New York Times, Oct. 15, 1927, 21. "Joseph Elwell Murder in 1920 Still Mystery," Chicago Tribune, Feb. 21, 1955. David J. Krajicek, "Who Would Want to Kill Joe Elwell?" New York Daily News, Feb. 13, 2011. Douglas J. Lanska, "Optograms and Criminology: Science, News Reporting, and Fanciful Novels," in Anne Stiles et al., Literature, Neurology, and Neuroscience: Historical and Literary Connections, 2013. Kirk Curnutt, "The Gatsby Murder Case," in Alfred Bendixen and Olivia Carr Edenfield, eds., The Centrality of Crime Fiction in American Literary Culture, 2017. Listener mail: Paul Rubin, "Burning Man: An Attorney Says He Escaped His Blazing Home Using Scuba Gear; Now He's Charged with Arson," Phoenix New Times, Aug. 27, 2009. Michael Walsh, "Autopsy Shows Michael Marin, Arizona Man Who Was Former Wall Street Trader, Killed Self With Cyanide After Hearing Guilty Verdict," New York Daily News, July 27, 2012. "Michael Marin Update: Canister Labeled 'Cyanide' Found in Arsonist's Vehicle, Investigators Say," CBS News/Associated Press, July 12, 2012. Ed Lavandera, "Ex-Banker's Courtroom Death an Apparent Suicide," CNN, July 11, 2012. At the guilty verduct, Marin put his hands to his mouth, apparently swallowed something, and collapsed in court: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWO_O4ScAsg Alex Papadimoulis, "Suzanne the 1000th Malone," The Daily WTF, Jan. 15, 2008. Lexico, "What Are the Plurals of 'Octopus', 'Hippopotamus', 'Syllabus'?" "Octopus," "Ask the Editor," Merriam-Webster. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Oliver Bayley. Here are some corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). Please visit Littleton Coin Company to sell your coins and currency, or call them toll free 1-877-857-7850. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at [e-mail]. Thanks for listening!

Welcome to the Futility Closet podcast, forgotten stories from the pages of history. Visit us online to sample more than 9,000 quirky curiosities from three-way baseball to a bridge called Bob. This is episode 167. I'm Greg Ross. And I'm Sharon Ross. This is episode 167. I'm Greg Ross. And I'm Sharon Ross.

In May 1920, wealthy womanizer Joseph Elwell was found shot to death alone in his locked house in Upper Manhattan. The police identified hundreds of people who might have wanted Elwell dead, but they couldn't quite pin the crime on any of them. In today's show, we'll review the sensational murder that the Chicago Tribune called one of the toughest mysteries of all times. We'll also learn a new use for scuba gear and puzzle over a sympathetic vandal. At 8.35 a.m. on June 11, 1920, a housekeeper named Marie Larson arrived at her employer's home, a brownstone on West 70th Street in Upper Manhattan. She unlocked the front double doors with her key and walked into the vestibule where she smelled cigarette smoke. She picked up the milk and cream for the floor, a bit puzzled as to how they'd got there since the front doors had been locked. She found that the inner door

leading to the hall was also locked. She opened that with her other key. She put the milk and cream in the kitchen and headed to the reception room, hoping to have it tidied before her employer, Joseph Elwell, called down to her for his breakfast. The door to the reception room was open, and she saw a man's reflection in the mirror. She apologized for having intruded, and then, hearing a strange sound, she went into the room. Elwell was sitting in an upright armchair, fighting noisily for breath. He'd been shot in the forehead. He was wearing red silk pajamas and his feet were bare. His eyes were shut, but the lids were quivering. Blood trickled onto a letter that was open on his lap. The letter's envelope and three unopened letters had spilled onto the carpet. Also on the carpet was the cartridge of the bullet that

had made the hole in his head. He was taken to a hospital and died there less than an hour later. Elwell was wealthy, but he'd made his fortune in a very unusual way. He was taken to a hospital and died there less than an hour later. Elwell was wealthy, but he made his fortune in a very unusual way. He was born into modest circumstances in New Jersey, but he started a Wist club at his church and found he was good at it just as it was becoming popular. Wist is a trick-taking card game similar to bridge. He began teaching the game to the Vanderbilts and other summer residents of Newport, and those connections began to give him rich students and gambling opportunities. He became a director of the New York Whist Club and began to write books about the game, and eventually he owned property in Palm Beach, 20 racehorses, five cars, and a yacht. He also developed a reputation as a womanizer. By 1916, his wife had filed for separation, and by 1920, they were negotiating a divorce. When the police arrived at

the crime scene, they saw it was going to be a difficult case. A neighbor had seen Elwell get out of a car and go into the house early that morning. No one else had been seen to enter or leave the house. At the murder scene, there was no sign of a struggle. Nothing had been disturbed. The house contained a lot of valuables, including cash, jade, and a Rembrandt painting, but the killer had left all of them alone. All the doors and windows were locked, and none of them had been tampered with. The gun was never found, and there were no fingerprints or any clues to the killer's identity or even gender. They ruled out suicide. For one thing, the gun was never found. Elwell's affairs were in good shape. There was no bad news in these letters he was reading,

and his estate turned out to be worth about $100,000. Also, it would be hard for a man to shoot himself, holding the gun more than a foot away from his forehead, which is what the investigation showed had happened. It appeared that what had happened is this. Elwell had come home early that morning and gone upstairs to his bedroom. He threw $400 and $7,000 worth of jewelry on the bed, which the killer also hadn't taken, and took off his toupee and false teeth. He changed into his pajamas and lay on the bed reading a copy of the racing news. Then for some reason he got up, probably quite quickly because the newspaper was thrown on the floor, and went downstairs in his bare feet. The milkman said he

delivered the milk and cream at 6 30 that morning. He'd found the outer doors open, so he left them in the vestibule. That explains how the housekeeper had found them there. The postman delivered the mail about an hour later, between 7 20 and 7 25. He too had found them there. The postman delivered the mail about an hour later between 7.20 and 7.25. He too had found the door open, so he threw the mail into the vestibule and rang the bell twice to indicate that it was there. Elwell probably got out of bed because he heard the doorbell. Either he heard the postman's rings or possibly the killer himself had rung the bell. It seems unlikely that he was expecting a visitor since he went downstairs without his toupee or false teeth, and he doesn't seem to have feared any danger since he didn't provide himself with a weapon.

I mentioned he was barefoot, and an examination showed there wasn't much dust on the soles of his feet. That suggests that he went pretty directly from the bedroom to the easy chair where he was found. If he'd walked around the house, there would have been more dust on his feet. The fact that he hadn't stopped to put on slippers or a house robe suggests that he dozed off and was awakened by an insistent ringing of the bell. Perhaps he thought that Larson, the housekeeper, had forgotten her key and was ringing to be let in. In any case, Elwell picked up the mail and took it with him into the reception room, possibly accompanied by the killer.

He sat down on an easy chair and opened the first letter. It was from his trainer, Lloyd Gentry, in Kentucky, reporting on some horses that were running there. In the center of the room was a Cogswell chair that normally stood in the corner. Apparently the killer had pulled it over opposite Elwell's chair. That suggested that Elwell knew the killer so well that he could talk to him casually while opening his mail. It's also possible that the killer had been hiding behind the Cogswell chair and came out to confront Elwell when he sat down to read his mail. There's just no way of knowing. Anyway, Elwell and the killer

sat opposite to each other while Elwell opened his mail, and then the killer said something that caused Elwell to raise his eyes. We know this because the powder burns and the angle of the bullet. The medical examiner's report says, the upward trajectory of the bullet causing it to exit an inch or so higher than its entrance might be taken as an indication that Elwell had his head thrown slightly back and was looking past the muzzle of the weapon into the eyes of his slayer. The circumstances, in my opinion, proved that Elwell was not taken by surprise, at least that the presence of the man or woman in the house was not a surprise to him. He might have been shot without knowing that he was about to be shot. On the other hand, he might have been sitting there trying to induce the murderer not to shoot.

There are no indications one way or the other on that point. The only other clues were two dead cigarettes which had gone out without being stubbed. One was in an ashtray on the table indications one way or the other on that point. The only other clues were two dead cigarettes, which had gone out without being stubbed. One was in an ashtray on the table beside Elwell, and the other rested on the mantelpiece, where it had gone out when it made contact with the rosewood. The one on the mantelpiece was not Elwell's brand. When the police first noticed it shortly after 9 a.m., it was still moist from the smoker's lips. Marie Larson, the housekeeper, had found the front doors locked when she arrived at 8.35. The medical examiner estimated that Elwell had been shot between 8.20

and 8.25. That means the killer had left immediately after shooting Elwell, locking the front door behind him. Larson had missed him by only about 10 minutes. She could still smell the cigarette smoke when she entered the house. On the evening before, Elwell had gone out with a party of friends, first to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and then to the aerial gardens on the roof of the New Amsterdam Theater. He was escorting a young woman whose divorce had just been finalized that day, and through an awkward coincidence, her ex-husband showed up at both venues with a beautiful date of his own. But the two parties acknowledged one another, and there was no animosity. At the end of the evening, Elwell put his friends into one cab and then took another home by himself, stopping on the way to pick up a copy of the racing

news, which he was reading in bed when the doorbell rang. I'm somewhat breezing through the events of the night before because it turns out they don't matter. The police investigated all these people thoroughly and they were all cleared of suspicion. The newspapers had a field day with the case, a mysterious murder among the city's well-to-do, but the people closest to Elwell all cooperated with the investigation and all of them were cleared. So in some ways the case is a classic locked room murder. A man is found shot to death in a locked house with no evidence pointing to the murderer. But there's really no mystery as to what happened that morning. Elwell was in bed reading the paper, the doorbell rang, he went downstairs, let in the killer, and picked up the mail and was reading when the visitor took out a gun and shot him. What makes the case hard to solve is that Elwell was an astonishingly busy ladies' man,

it turns out. After going through his papers, police listed 170 women acquaintances, including two foreign princesses and 14 other women who were receiving monthly payments for favors received. William Barnes, Elwell's secretary, said he had knowledge of more than 50 affairs of his employer, the scenes being laid over a geographical area from Carlsbad to California. Assistant District Attorney John Dooling said, there is a new character or several new characters in the investigation every day. We have heard of scores of women or hundreds of them who knew Elwell. Some knew him well and others had merely a passing acquaintance with him. As a result, there were literally hundreds of people who might have wanted Elwell dead, the women themselves or an angry husband, sweetheart, father, or brother.

Elwell's chauffeur, Edwin Rhodes, said he guessed Elwell was killed over a woman. He said, Elwell would often see a woman on the street, order me to stop the car and take her in. He did not care whether he knew her or not. The judge asked, what is your best opinion of who killed Elwell and of the motive? Rhodes said, well, sir, if I was to express my opinion, I would say it was over some woman. What makes you think so? It seems as though it was a woman because Mr. Elwell traveled with so many, married and single, that would be most likely. Elwell's friends tended to agree he'd been killed by a husband or father, but the detectives couldn't find any evidence to pin the murder to any particular suspect.

As the investigation went on, the newspapers were full of speculation about the mysterious women in Elwell's life. There was a woman in black, a woman in white, a woman in gray. Notes from women had been found in Elwell's den and among the letters at his feet. A young woman of fair complexion had visited him four days before the murder. On the following day, a little, short, fat, dark-haired pretty girl of about 24 arrived to have lunch with him. On the morning of the murder, a young woman called to ask why he hadn't picked her up at Pennsylvania Station as he'd promised, and another woman actually came into the house and went halfway up the stairs hoping to retrieve an incriminating pink negligee from the upper rooms.

She retreated when she saw the detectives on the second floor. It later turned out that the housekeeper had hid the negligee for her. Some of these women were identified, and some of them never were. The woman on the stairs turned out to be Viola Krause, Elwell's date from the night before, but police cleared her of any suspicion. Scores of beautiful women were questioned by the district attorney's office. It took months to check out their stories, but in the end, all of them were cleared. Beyond the women, Elwell had plenty of other shady dealings that might have got him killed. He gambled on the stock exchange, he owned racehorses, he trafficked in real estate, and he was rumored to be involved in bootlegging. There were plenty of people who disliked Elwell, but there was no clear evidence implicating any

of them. One reporter wrote that the police were baffled by the very multiplicity of the enemies he had made. The New York Times wrote, the police and district attorney's office followed up countless trails and investigated numerous suspects but found no clue that proved to be sound. followed up countless trails and investigated numerous suspects, but found no clue that proved to be sound. They investigated old quarrels, old love affairs, turf rows, gambling squabbles, and business disagreements, and found scores of persons who might have had grievances or fancied grievances against Elwell. Inviting and plausible theories led in every direction, but always ended with the investigators up against a blank wall. On June 28th, District Attorney Edward Swan said,

After 18 days, neither my office nor the police have anybody we can point at with suspicion. We have got a thousand and one collateral details, but on the main issue, the evidence is entirely devoid of any fact that would justify us in accusing any man or woman. If it was a murder, the murderer has kept his own counsel. I wish I could say there was a dramatic breakthrough, but there wasn't. To this day, no one knows who killed Joseph Elwell or why or what precisely happened in his reception room that morning. Andrew McCrary, the lawyer for Elwell's brother and mother, said there were just too many people whose relations with Elwell might suggest a motive and an opportunity. He said, I can pick out any one of seven or eight persons who were under suspicion and build up a circumstantial case against him that would appear

almost as strong as a confession. Then I can take suspect number two and build up a stronger case against him or her and so proceed with the rest of the seven or eight. In that respect, the case was one of the toughest mysteries ever presented to the authorities. McCrary said not a single clue of importance had been found since the morning of the murder. The New York Times wrote, it is admitted that the murder could have been committed by anyone in New York who could shoot a.45 Colts automatic and been at the Elwell residence at the time. Anyone in New York, that narrows it down. Yeah. Although the thing that strikes me is that he was opening his mail. I mean, you mentioned this, that you would have to have a pretty casual relationship with somebody or a pretty confident relationship with somebody to be opening your mail. If this was somebody you'd had

shady business dealings with or you thought it was an irate husband, you wouldn't be opening your mail. If this was somebody you'd had shady business dealings with or you thought it was an irate husband, you wouldn't be opening your mail. Or if it was, say, a hitman who'd been hired to kill you. You wouldn't open your mail. You wouldn't let him into your house in your pajamas. And then sit there reading your mail. So it had to be somebody that he felt kind of comfortable with. And you think the person's...

He's sitting there without his toupee and without his teeth, so he would have to feel pretty intimate with the person, I would think. But they never figured out who that would be. But I just think that cuts out some people in New York, at least. Some of them. Okay, fair enough. Swan, the district attorney, said, This is the most mysterious murder of the generation. There is no doubt that it is a murder, not a suicide, but the motive is absolutelyo Vance, and it fascinated the creators of Ellery Queen. More tenuously, some people think he helped to inspire the character Jay Gatsby

in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. And that, I'm afraid, is that. Despite enormous public interest, the murder of Joseph Elwell has never been solved. As I was researching the story, I made a little collection of epithets that the people of the time applied to the case. The New York Times called it among the most remarkable murder mysteries in the annals of crime in this country, and a mystery which some students of crime have held to be perfect of its kind, The Chicago Tribune called it one of the toughest mysteries of all times.

And speaking to reporters, the district attorney Edward Swan said, Boys, it's the mystery case of the century. Have you inherited an old coin collection or an accumulation of coins and currency that you're not sure what to do with? Littleton Coin is here to help. For over 70 years, Littleton Coin has been helping people just like you sell their coins and currency. As an industry leader in collectible coins and currency, Littleton can pay you more. Plus, in 2016, the company's president, David Sundman, received the American Numismatic Association Dealer of the Year Award, and Littleton Coin was honored with the Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics. So you know that these are people you can trust and rely on. Whether you're an experienced

collector or someone who needs help identifying what you have in your collection, Littleton Coin Company is the place to sell your U.S. coins and currency. The process is incredibly simple. Visit littletoncoin.com slash closet to learn more or give them a call toll free at 1-877-857-7850. That's littletoncoin.com slash closet or see the show notes for the phone number and link. We get some email with just terrific subject lines. Greg Askins wrote in about the puzzle in episode 164 about the surprising evidence that was able to be used against a man whose house burned down. Greg's subject line was, burning man, an attorney says he escaped his blazing home using scuba gear. Now he's charged

with arson. And really, how many emails do you get with subject lines like that, right? And it turned out that was the headline of a news story Greg was sending us. Greg said, this story happened here in the Phoenix metro area where I live. So when you and Sharon started your latest puzzler about the house fire escape, I initially thought this might be the story she was working with. I'm not sure if the story in the link I sent you addresses this, but I remember reading when this happened that the police were very suspicious that someone would take the time to put on scuba equipment during a fire. to put on scuba equipment during a fire, and also that the equipment was stored in his bedroom and not the garage or other storage room and was ready to be used at a moment's notice in the middle of the night. The whole story about Michael Maron escaping from his burning palatial home in 2009

was really remarkable. The attorney and former Wall Street trader had bought a 10,000 square foot mansion the previous year as the housing market was collapsing. And by his own admission, he didn't begin to have the $2.3 million that was about to be due on it. Marin had paid a little over $2.5 million for the house, but had also set up a fake second mortgage on it for about $1 million to make it appear that the house had actually cost him $3.5 million. for about $1 million, to make it appear that the house had actually cost him $3.5 million. His plan had been to sell raffle tickets for the house at $25 apiece, and claim that all the profit above the cost of the house would go to charity.

But since he was inflating the cost of the house, if the plan worked, then he would earn $1 million from the scheme. He spent considerable time setting up the raffle, and even climbed Mount Everest to drum up publicity for it. But in the end, Arizona state officials ruled that the raffle violated state laws on gambling, and Marin was stuck with a house that he couldn't pay for. That's kind of clever in its way, but climbing Mount Everest seems like a lot of trouble to go to. It does seem like a lot of trouble, doesn't it?

Although Marin claimed that he was living in the house part-time at the time of the fire, as much as 70% of the time, according to one statement that he gave, after the fire, it was found that he hadn't moved any of his most precious possessions into his new house, including his pets and some rather valuable artwork. Fire investigators found that the house's two trash cans had spider webs connecting them, indicating that they hadn't been moved in some time. Inside the house, they found a little furniture, some non-valuable artwork, and a strange assortment of random items in packing boxes that had been lined up on the ground floor. The investigators found it very interesting that these packing boxes were filled with cheap items,

most of which still had price tags on them, showing that they had generally cost less than $4. Also found were 28 charred phone books near the boxes that appeared to have been used as kindling. From the charring on the boxes, it appeared that they had been what investigators called an attempted area of ignition. In the event of a fire, insurance that covered damage to the building itself would have been paid to the lender, not Marin. But Marin could have claimed up to $1 million for the loss of any property inside the house if there had actually been anything of much value in the house, which there didn't appear to be. So all of this was odd enough, but to top it off, one of the few things that Marin had moved into his new home was his scuba equipment. And not just that, but as Greg Askins noted, Marin had inexplicably lugged his

heavy, bulky scuba equipment up to the second floor bedroom rather than store it in the spacious garage or any of the other first floor storage areas and thus had it all at hand, ready to be used to escape from the fire so that he was able to climb down from the second-story balcony using the portable ladder while wearing various pieces of scuba gear and breathing air from a scuba tank. So his story was just that he happened to think of that when he realized the house was on fire? Yes, yes. He'd been sleeping in the middle of the night. He woke up and was like, oh, my house is burning down. I'm having trouble breathing. I'm going to go put on all my scuba gear and get out my portable scuba ladder and save myself using it all.

The firefighters said they had never seen anything like this. So while all of that does seem rather suspicious, you have to admit, even worse for Marin was that the fire investigators were later able to determine that the fire had started in multiple places in the house, although Marin had been alone in the house, supposedly sleeping at the time that it started. Marin was convicted of arson in 2012, and then to cap off this whole strange story, he apparently poisoned himself with cyanide in the courtroom immediately after hearing the verdict and died within minutes right in the courtroom. It was discovered that he had ordered cyanide on the Internet in 2011 before his trial had even started.

And court video shows him putting his hands to his mouth and apparently swallowing something right after the guilty verdict was read. right after the guilty verdict was read. His son received a delayed email that night telling him that if things didn't go well in court, Marin's wills were in place and giving the location of Marin's car in which they found a canister labeled cyanide. So he brought cyanide with him to the courtroom. To the courtroom, yep, apparently with this whole plan. And just sat there with it in his hand waiting for the verdict. Apparently he did, yes. And then you can see him on the court video. We'll have a link to a video in the show notes where he seems to like put his hands over his face as though he's in shocker and then he moves them to his mouth and then you can actually like see him swallowing and then a few minutes later he like went into spasms and collapsed

so yeah that was uh one rather odd story so i covered the last puzzle update without actually spoiling the answer to that puzzle. But in the next one, I will be giving away the answer to the puzzle from episode 165. That puzzle was about an Indian newsreader who read the name Xi of China's president as 11. And this seemed like a bit of a funny mistake to make since Roman numerals aren't generally in common use. But MJ Knuster said, keep in mind that in Cricket Mad India, there are many reports on the Indian 11 written as XI. This is a common term for cricket teams. And according to what I can find on this, MJ is quite right. And that does make the error at least a little more

understandable. That makes a lot more sense. Yeah. Yeah, we couldn't even think of a reason for it. Peter Salstrom wrote, As usual, I enjoyed your show today. Your story about 11 Jinping reminded me of another story I read several years ago about a woman who would be identified as Suzanne the Thousandth Malone whenever her local library's automated system called her house to say her books were available. It turns out her name was listed in the system as Suzanne M. Malone, and the library's text-to-speech system on their auto-dialer was interpreting her middle initial as a Roman numeral.

One of the commenters on the article describes this as a great example of a rare requirement overwriting a more common requirement because of bad coding. And this story that Peter sent actually takes place in the very county that Greg and I live in. These automated messages for Suzanne the Thousandth Malone occurred over several years, and her husband said that before they could figure out what the problem was, it had simply been an inside joke for us. Who knows, there must have been 999 other Suzanne Malones in Wake County. He also said, I guess if my name were Pope John Paul IV, then I would want the system to interpret Roman numerals. Of course,

interpreting Roman numerals in the person's middle name or something on the order of M is just plain stupid. I guess all those poor saps out there whose middle initials are I, V, L, X, C, D, or M have their own inside jokes too. And apparently this isn't really as uncommon as we would have thought it would be. Pete Wine wrote, I just listened to the puzzle in episode 165, the newscaster fired for saying 11. I worked out the puzzle pretty quickly because the same thing had happened in my own family. I have an 80-year-old aunt who everyone knows as Vi, short for Violet. You can see where this is going.

She had a new health visitor from Africa who insisted on calling her six, much to my aunt's amusement. And Elias Walker, who along with Peter and Pete, gets bonus points for including the requested pronunciation tips for their names, wrote, Dear Futility Closet team, this includes Sasha, I was listening to episode 165, A Case of Mistaken Identity, and at the lateral thinking puzzle about the person who got fired from her job for saying the word 11, I thought that she could have been referring to 9-11 as that would have been very sensitive and could cause her to be fired.

I am one of your youngest listeners at 14. Many, many thanks for the amazing podcast. And I guess that makes sense that she might have been fired if she'd said something that seemed disrespectful or offensive about 9-11, which I hadn't even considered when I was trying to solve the puzzle.

I just couldn't think of anything connected to the word 11 that could seem sensitive. Elias also included a bonus fact for us. Did you know the original Greek plural of octopus is octopodes? And no, Elias, I didn't. Octopus always seems to be one of those words that no one is ever quite sure what the plural is supposed to be. It always, whatever you say, it sounds wrong. But according to some helpful explainers from the Oxford and the Merriam-Webster dictionaries, some people try to use octopi based on the

assumption that octopus is a Latin word, but that is actually wrong, as octopus is derived from a Greek word, and the correct plural for the Greek word would be, as Elias noted, octopodes. In actuality, most Americans just say octopuses, and apparently that's perfectly fine. Okay. So thanks so much to everyone who writes in to us. We really appreciate getting your updates, feedback, and comments. And if you have any to send to us, please send them to podcast at futilitycloset.com. please send them to podcast at futilitycloset.com. It's my turn to try to solve a lateral thinking puzzle.

Greg is going to give me a strange sounding situation and I have to try to figure out what is actually going on, asking only yes or no questions. This is from listener Oliver Bailey. After seeing an empty shop, a man angrily and impulsively smashes one of its windows in full view of other members of the public. He is apprehended by the police, but after hearing his explanation, the owners of the shop decide not to press charges and instead make an apology to him. Why? Did this really happen?

Yes. Okay. Is the country important? Yes. Was it in Russia? I don't know why I'm saying that. No, good guess, I guess. Okay. Was it in Europe? Yes. Is the time period important? Yes. Was it in Russia? No, good guess, I guess. Okay, was it in Europe? Yes. Is the time period important? Yes, and some of this I'll just tell you to move it along. Okay.

This happened in London in 1968. Oh, okay. In 1968. Am I supposed to know what was going on in British politics or geopolitical events in 1968 in London? No, you don't need that. Thank you. All right. You're welcome. I'm not sure I know too many of them. Okay.

It happened in London. A guy saw an empty shop. Did he have a previous history with this shop? No. Oh. Okay. Came up with all kinds of ideas there. Throw them all out.

He had no previous history with the shop, but he saw an empty shop and he was so angry he smashed the shop window. That's right. Because the shop was empty? No. Because of the name of the shop? No, because of words he saw written in the shop window. But not the name of it.

That's right. But other words that he saw written in the shop window. But not the name of it. That's right. But other words that he saw written in the shop window. Are these words that would commonly be seen in shop windows, like closed or open or the store's hours, something like that? No. Okay. So there were unusual words. Did the words have to do with the shop itself? No.

Ah. Well, arguably, I'm going to say no. Okay. Because like it could be, you could just put up a flyer or a notification that the Beatles are coming or something like that, that had nothing to do with the store. That's actually quite close to the answer. Okay. Did it have something to do with the Beatles?

Yes. Oh, it did. Okay. I do know something that was going on in Britain in 1968. Did this man have some connection to the Beatles? No. Okay. But he sees some notice about the Beatles in a shop window.

Yes. That has very little connection to do with the shop itself. I'm going to say, well... Ah, it has some connection to do with the shop itself. I'll tell you that much too. This was in the window of the Apple Boutique, which was a store that the Beatles had owned in London, but it had closed the week before. So it was an empty shop now, but it was associated with the Beatles. Okay. And there were words that were written in the window of the shop. And this man has no association with the Beatles himself.

No. No previous history with the Beatles or previous history with the store. That's right. Would you call him a fan of the Beatles? No. He dislikes the Beatles. No, not even that. He doesn't care about the Beatles.

I'll tell you what the words were just to help this along. Okay. The words were Hey Jude and Revolution, which were the two sides of a single that was about to come out. Paul McCartney had written them in the window as a way to sort of build buzz for this upcoming release. Did the man believe he had written these songs? No. Oh. Did he misunderstand

the meaning of these words? Yes. So he thought there was going to be some kind of a revolution? He was concerned there was going to be a revolution? Yes, concerned there was going to be a revolution? Yes, but there's more to it than that. Was he British? No.

The man was not British. Okay. Does his nationality matter? Yes. Was he Russian? No. Okay. Was he from Europe? Yes. And I need to know which country. Yes.

A country associated with England? Closely, like part of the Great Britain? No, no, no. No. Okay. associated with England? Closely, like part of Great Britain? No, no, no. No. Okay, was he French? No. Oh, thinking of revolutions. Spanish.

Trying to come up with European countries involved in revolutions. German? Yes. Okay, he was German. Did he misunderstand the meaning of one word in particular? Yes. Jude? Yes.

Oh, oh, he thought it had something to do with being Jewish. Yes. Ah. That's basically it. Oliver writes, The shop in question was the Apple Boutique owned by the Beatles on the corner of Baker Street and Paddington Street, Marlborough in London. It had closed down and was empty. However, the Beatles were releasing a double A-sided single of Hey Jude, backed with Revolution, and decided to use the shop windows for a bit of guerrilla marketing. They had the words Hey Jude whitewashed in large letters on one of the shop windows and the word Revolution on the other. The shop was known by many to be

owned by the Beatles, so they knew the appearance of the strange unattributed words would soon create a buzz around what they could mean. Unfortunately, a Jewish man who had lived in Germany during the 1930s saw the lettering as he walked past one day. Jüde is German for Jew, and the appearance of the word in this context made him believe that this was an anti-Semitic graffiti attack on a Jewish-owned store, as he had witnessed many times under Nazi rule. I can see that.

The word revolution probably didn't help either, as the Nazis often described themselves as conducting a revolution. He experienced an emotional reaction and smashed the windows, but then made no attempt to get away. After being told of the reason for the man's actions, the Beatles did not press charges and apologized to him for not realizing how this usage of the words could appear. And looking into this, I found that in the Beatles anthology, McCartney said, a guy who had a delicatessen in Marlowe and rang me up, and he was furious. I'm going to send one of my sons around to beat you up. I said, hang on, hang on, what's this about? And he said, you've written Yudah in the shop window. I had no idea Oh, wow.

So thank you, Oliver, for sending that. Yeah, that's a good story. And if anybody else has a puzzle they'd like to send in for us to try, you can send it to us at podcast at futilitycloset.com. Futility Closet is a full-time commitment for us, and we really do depend on the support of our listeners. While we do have some advertising on the show, that doesn't by itself cover the big commitment of time that it takes us to make the podcast each week. of time that it takes us to make the podcast each week. So if you would like to help support our celebration of the quirky and the curious, then check out our Patreon campaign at patreon.com slash futility closet, or see the support us section of the website. At the website,

you'll also find over 9000 delightful distractions, the futility closet store, and the show notes for the podcast with links and references for the topics we've covered. If you have any questions or comments for us, you can reach us by email at podcast at futilitycloset.com. Our music was written and performed by my phenomenal brother-in-law, Doug Ross. Thanks for listening, and we'll talk to you next week.